Work as a childminder
Be your own boss, work flexibly and help the children you care for thrive. You don’t have to work alone either. Build networks or employ assistants. Set up your business your way.
You can even get a grant after registering worth up to £1200 to help with your start-up costs.
What’s involved
Childminders offer professional home-away-from-home childcare. They look after small groups of children of different ages.
They work closely with parents and carers to provide bespoke care. Childminders often work in their own home but don’t have to. They can also work from places, such as:
- nurseries
- church halls
- classrooms or other parts of a school
Some childminders may offer wraparound childcare. This means looking after children of all ages before and after school. It can also mean looking after them during the school holidays.
Childminding allows people to be their own boss. Childminders are usually self-employed and run their own business. Many go on to expand their business and employ childminding assistants so they can care for more children at once.
What you’ll do
If you become a childminder, no two days will be the same. A typical day is likely to include:
- encouraging children’s development using creative play, reading and storytelling
- cooking with and for the children, providing healthy, nutritious meals and snacks
- taking the children to and from nursery or school
- observing the children’s progress
- working with parents and carers to support their child’s ongoing learning and development
- safeguarding the children and ensuring their welfare
You could also learn from an experienced childminder as a childminding assistant.
What you’ll need
If you want to become a childminder, you’ll need to go through a formal application and registration process. You can find more information about that below.
After you’ve applied, you’ll have a pre-registration visit. During this visit, you’ll need to show that you have the required knowledge of the early years foundation stage framework. If you will be working from home, there will also be checks on other people in your home.
Register as a childminder
You can register as a childminder either with Ofsted or a childminder agency. Follow this link to start a new application to register with Ofsted.
Or explore registering with the childminder agencies below:
After you have registered you can apply for a childminder start-up grant. These are worth £600 when registering with Ofsted, or £1200 when registering with a childminder agency.
There’s more information online about how to become a childminder or nanny with details about registering and the checks you’ll need.
New changes are making it quicker and easier to register as a childminder with Ofsted, learn about the new childminder flexibilities here.
If you want to know more about the differences between registering with Ofsted and childminder agencies, you can read this blog.
Real stories
Discover the real stories from early years educators making a difference, their way. Hear what they have to say about where they work and what their role is like.
Training and qualifications
If you would like to grow in your career and get involved in other roles, find out more about the qualifications you can take.
